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Seller Protection: Support for Your Business

As a business owner, you want to do everything you can to protect your business, including processing customer payments smoothly. This is where choosing a payment provider with seller protection can help.

What is Seller Protection?

PayPal Seller Protection is a policy that can protect your transactions from chargebacks, reversals, and their associated fees. If your customer disputes or reverses a transaction, you may be eligible to retain the full purchase amount and avoid any related chargeback fees (for debit and credit card-funded transactions).

What PayPal Seller Protection covers.

Unauthorized Transactions

This is when a buyer claims they didn’t authorize a payment.

Items Not Received

This is when a buyer claims they never received the item they purchased.

What makes PayPal Seller Protection different.

We want to make it easy for you to protect your online sales. When you open a Business account with us, we offer Seller Protection at no additional charge for eligible transactions. We also don’t limit the number of eligible payments, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements.

How to be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection.

To be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection, you must meet all of the following requirements.

The primary address for your PayPal account must be in country of residence. (pypl to validate this language)

The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.

You must ship the item to the shipping address on the transaction details page in your PayPal account for the transaction. If you originally ship the item to the recipient’s shipping address on the transaction details page but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.

You must respond to PayPal’s requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner as requested in our email correspondence with you or in our correspondence with you through the Resolution Center. If you do not respond to PayPal’s request for documentation and other information in the time requested, you may not be eligible for Seller Protection.

If the sale involves pre-ordered or made-to-order goods, you must ship within the timeframe you specified in the listing. Otherwise, it is recommended that you ship all items within 7 days after receipt of payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I receive a complaint?

If the transaction in question meets the eligibility criteria, you’ll be able to keep the full purchase amount, and we’ll also waive any chargeback fees (for debit and credit card-funded transactions).

Keep in mind that while we’re reviewing the complaint, the money for the disputed transaction might be temporarily unavailable to you. If the dispute is decided in your favor, we’ll make the money available again as part of your PayPal balance.

It also takes teamwork to find a resolution. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, you also need to respond to any reversal within the timeframe given. Be sure to include the appropriate proof of delivery or proof of shipment, depending on the requirements.

How can I prevent complaints and reversals?

You won’t be able to prevent all reversals but you can help by providing thorough and accurate details of the items you sell, shipping quickly, and communicating well with your buyers. The little details go a long way. However, reversals are part of doing business to some degree. Always make sure you follow the PayPal Seller Protection Policy to protect yourself. Here are a few actionable tips:

To reduce (Items Not Received) INR complaints:

Communicate well with your buyers.

Be clear about shipping timeframes.

Ship only using reputable shipping partners who can provide online shipment tracking details.

Share shipping details with your buyers.

What isn’t covered by PayPal Seller Protection?

Seller Protection doesn’t cover buyer claims for items received that are ‘Significantly Not As Described (SNAD)’; in other words, what the buyer received doesn’t match what they ordered. For example: Say the buyer ordered a pink scarf but received a green one instead. But you can reduce SNAD complaints by:

Providing detailed and accurate descriptions of the items you are selling.

Communicating well with your buyers.

Answering any questions about the item(s) quickly.

Being open to resolving issues as they arise (refunds, returns, and exchanges) to prevent a formal complaint.

How can I prevent fraud when shipping an order?

Here's how you can help prevent fraud when shipping an order:

Verify shipping addressGo online and verify the shipping address. Look for red flags such as shipment to a freight forwarder, shipping company, P.O. Box, hotel or a vacant property. Fraudsters often ship orders to addresses that can't be traced back to them.

Freight forwarder: Third party shipping service that reships merchandise to another location (typically abroad) for a fee. To see where your package is being sent to, simply enter the shipping address into a search engine. If the search results show the name of shipping company, be more cautious.

Shipping companies or P.O. boxes: Fraudsters like the anonymity that shipping companies and P.O. boxes provide. However, there are also a lot of legitimate reasons for using a shipping company or a P.O. box. You just need to be more cautious, since shipping to P.O. boxes and shipping companies are typically more risky than shipping to residential addresses.

Money mule: Fraudsters pay people (known as money mules) to have orders shipped to their address. The money mule receives the package, then reships it to the fraudster’s address. Be careful if you have a lot of orders from different customers that are shipped to the same address.

Vacant property: To identify vacant properties, enter the shipping address into a search engine. If the property is currently listed as for rent or for sale, it could be vacant.

Ship with online trackingUse a shipping service that provides online tracking to help confirm the item was delivered. Standard shipping receipts only show that an item was shipped. Online tracking services prove the item was delivered.

If the total sale is for $750 or more, obtain signature confirmation to confirm your customer received their order – the nominal expense is well worth it.

Use your discretion when shipping internationally using First Class Mail International since this shipping service is not accepted under PayPal's Seller Protection Policy.

Order shipping insuranceToo many things can go wrong in transit. That's why it's important to purchase shipping insurance for items that are fragile or expensive. Shipping insurance serves two purposes:

Insures the item in the event it is lost or damaged.

Includes tracking and delivery information so the customer can see that the order is en route, and you will know when the package was delivered.

In case of a shipping problem, file an insurance claim with the shipping company.You, your customer or the shipping company can report claims. Contact your shipping company for detailed instructions on how you should proceed with a claim. Be aware of insurance exceptions. Liability for loss or damage may be limited depending on the type of package, the declared value, and/or the shipping company. Talk to the shipping company to ensure proper coverage.

Delay shipping high-risk ordersDelay shipment for new orders that are expensive and in demand for 24 to 48 hours, especially when shipping internationally. Use caution when shipping overnight. Fraudsters will often ask for overnight shipping so that they can resell expensive merchandise as quickly as possible.

Use your own shipping serviceDo not use your customer's shipping company when mailing orders. Packages can be rerouted by the customer to other addresses after shipment, and won't be covered by Seller Protection.

Use care when choosing or acting as a drop shipper

Since you're responsible for delivering what the customer orders, it's critical to choose a reputable drop shipper to help avoid losses.

Be wary of drop-shipping companies located in high-risk countries.

If you're a drop shipper, have a vetting process in place for all suppliers. This should include inventory management and product guarantees (to ensure that items are in stock and you're delivering high-quality merchandise).

Issue returns quickly and let customers know when you are out of stock/inventoryIf an item is out of stock, remove the listing or update it to reflect the out-of-stock status. Provide an estimated in-stock date or clearly indicate that customers who choose an out-of-stock product are placing an advance order.

Example: A new customer orders a $10,000 chandelier. Here is what you can do:

Search an online map to see who and where the order is being shipped. Is the order being shipped to an expensive home, motel or to a freight forwarder?

Use a search engine or social networking site to verify the name and shipping address. Does the name, shipping address and billing address match?

Why is the payment I received under review?

PayPal reviews all transactions to help sellers avoid risk. If we think that a payment might be risky or fraudulent, we'll review it and ask you to wait until our review is complete before shipping. The review process usually takes less than 24 hours, but sometimes can extend to 48 hours.

We'll let you know by email or you'll see under your Notifications alert when it's ok to ship an item that's been under review. Payments that clear Payment Review are automatically eligible for Seller Protection as long as the transaction follows Seller Protection guidelines.